1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)
On the night of July 19 in the year 64, a terrible fire broke out in the city of Rome. The fire burned for three days and three nights, and seemed to have died out, but then suddenly flared up against with an even greater fury. The damage was devastating by the time the fire was finally extinguished. People lost their homes and their lives. The ancient landmarks were all gone. And it was all due to one man: the Roman emperor, Nero.
Nero had an incredible passion for building, and there were many people who believed that he had deliberately burned the city just to have the opportunity to build it again. No one knows whether he set the fire himself or had someone else set it, but it is a fact that he watched the fire from a tower and remarked that he was charmed with the flames. A rumor went around that the men who were trying to put out the fire were deliberately interfered with as they tried to work. Others said that they saw men restarting the fire where it had seemed to subside. Nero found himself in a tenuous position. He couldn’t allow people to blame him for the destruction of Rome, even if it were true. So he looked around to find someone else to blame, and the scapegoat that he targeted was the Christian community.
Nero blamed the Christians for setting the fire. He shifted all the people’s anger and grief and desire for revenge onto their heads. Even Roman historians stated that this was one reason that persecution of the Christians broke out. Tacitus wrote, “Neither human assistance in the shape of imperial gifts, nor attempts to appease the gods, could remove the sinister report that the fire was due to Nero’s own orders. And, so, in the hope of dissipating the rumor, he falsely diverted the charge onto a set of people to whom the vulgar gave the name of Christians…” And later a Christian historian named Sulpicius Severus wrote, “… it happened that Rome was destroyed by fire, while Nero was stationed at Antium. But the opinion of all cast the odium of causing the fire upon the emperor, and he was believed in this way to have sought for the glory of building a new city. And, in fact, Nero could not, by any means he tried, escape from the charge that the fire had been caused by his orders. He, therefore, turned the accusation against the Christians and the most cruel tortures were accordingly inflicted upon the innocent.”
An incredibly savage persecution against the Christians began and was enjoyed by the emperor. The Christians were killed in sadistic ways. Some were rolled in pitch and set on fire to be used as torches in the emperor’s gardens or for athletic games. Others were sewn in animal skins, and hunting dogs were released to kill them. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote, “Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to flames and burned, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserve extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for, it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty that they were being destroyed.” The book of Hebrews, written about the time of these events, includes a description of the types of persecution used against the Christians. In chapter 11:35-38 we read, “Some were tortured … Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, … wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”
It was against this historical backdrop that Peter wrote from Rome to the Christians in Asia Minor, who were also victims of persecution. In this incredible letter, Peter didn’t advise them to hide, or to lie about their faith when questioned, or even to fight back. Instead, Peter offered them words of encouragement and strength, urging them to find courage and even hope and joy in the midst of the time of trial that would come.
The first thing Peter told these Christians under threat of persecution was to remind them of the living hope that they had been given through faith. The word Peter used here for “hope” is not a word that means wishful thinking. It actually means “trust,” or “anticipation with firm expectation.” It refers to a firm conviction about something. This kind of hope is sure to be fulfilled. We can count on it. Our hope, Peter said, is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus conquered death and promised that all who follow him will receive an inheritance that will never perish or spoil or fade. It is an inheritance kept for us in heaven, guaranteed to be there when we arrive. Because of this we have hope. Even when everything in the world around us seems to be evidence against hope, when the forces of evil seem to be winning, when innocent people are killed, even then we have hope, not because of what the world holds, not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because Jesus died for us and was raised from the dead and lives in us today. Jesus holds the tickets to our final destination.
What does that hope do for us? When the elder George Bush was Vice President, he represented the United States at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush later said that he had been deeply moved by something that Brezhnev’s wife did during the proceedings, something that was a form of silent protest against the realities of an atheistic nation. She stood by the coffin, and just before the soldiers closed the lid, she reached over and made the sign of the cross on her husband’s chest. Right there, in the midst of a declared atheistic power, the wife of the man who had been in charge of it all demonstrated her hope that her husband had been wrong, and that somehow the One who died on the cross might still have mercy on him.
Peter next wrote that as Christians who live with such hope, we are shielded by God through our faith. We don’t have to face the trials of life alone. We don’t have to try and survive on our strength alone. We are called to trust that God is with us and that God’s power will be sufficient for everything we need. The word Peter used here was a military term that is related to standing sentinel. God watches over us, and even when we cannot see God, he is still keeping watch over us. God will not shield us from the troubles of human existence, but he will give us what we need to get through them.
Peter then went even one step further. He said that because we know of God’s power keeping watch over us, we are able to rejoice. Even when we are suffering, even when we are grieving, even when we feel like we’re on trial, we can rejoice. Happiness is not guaranteed. Anyone who claims to be happy all the time is either a liar or crazy. Happiness depends on externals – feeling loved, being comfortable, having our needs and wants satisfied, having friends. But joy is something much deeper. It is an awareness of God’s presence with us that is permanent; nothing can shake it or destroy it. Joy can even grow during times of trial, because our faith can grow. It is kind of hard to explain or to understand, but faith in the face of suffering or testing is greater faith than the faith we have when life is good. It’s like faith proves itself in surviving the hardest times of life. Trials will come to us all; but we can come through on the other side of suffering with a stronger faith than ever before.
Finally, Peter told these early Christians – and us – that we are receiving the goal of our faith, the salvation of our souls. It is easy to sometimes forget what the goal of faith is. We might think that the goal of faith is to give us a sense of security, or to bring us into a community of mutual love and support. We might think about how faith is what gives meaning to life. We might even think about how faith can reduce stress and improve our psychological well-being. But the most important thing, the greatest goal, is our salvation. The single most defining trait of the church is that it exists for the purpose of saving souls.
In 1995 the Northwestern University Wildcats stunned the world of college football by making it to the Rose Bowl game. But it wasn’t as much of a fluke as some people might have believed. The person behind the team’s success was their head coach, Gary Barnett. He was determined to prove that the kids at the Big Ten’s smallest and most academically demanding school could play competitive football. So he ordered a Tournament of Roses flag for the football building. And he kept a silk rose on his desk to remind himself and everyone else where they were headed.
We could learn something from Coach Barnett. It is important to remind ourselves where we are headed. We are on our way to claim our inheritance that we share with Jesus, kept for us in heaven. We know that this world will bring us trouble. But we also know that at the end of it all there will be glory. Hope may seem like wishful thinking to others, but to those of us who follow Jesus, this hope is sure and certain. We need to remember the goal of faith is the salvation of our souls. And we need to remember that the mission of the church is to save souls. As John Wesley said, “I have nothing to do but save souls.”
In a world full of trials and troubles, persecution and struggles, suffering and pain, Christians are reminded to claim our hope, this living hope given to us through the resurrection of Jesus. That hope will completely transform our lives.
